tonight with many saying it's the worst season in recent memory. and officials say california could be added to the outbreak list in the next few days. nbc bay area's brian mooar has a look at the rush to get flu shots, the shortages and new york just declared a public health emergency. >> reporter: this is an emergency room in brooklyn, but it could be just about anywhere in the country. and this patient isn't alone. >> burning up. >> reporter: new york state has already seen more than 19,000 flu cases. nearly five times the numbers seen at this time last year. officials at the u.s. centers for disease control say the flu is widespread right now in 47 states. children have been especially hard hit with 20 deaths reported. >> she started feeling like -- >> reporter: this mom now finds herself juggling two sick children. >> i was just in the hospital on

thursday with aaron. now i'm here on saturday with chloe. >> reporter: a typical flu season lasts about three months, meaning isn't even the halfway mark. and medical experts say there's still time to get the flu shot, but it doesn't provide protection for about two weeks. >> it prevents complications, pneumonia, hospitalization and hello, death. >> reporter: from washington state to boston, people are heeding the advice and getting the flu shot. >> we've given about 400 flu shots already this morning. >> reporter: the last line of defense in an epic flu season that's still going strong. brian mooar, nbc news. here in the bay area, people are also having a hard time finding flu shots. there are shortages at some locations. cvs pharmacy says, quote, due to high demand caused by the early outbreak of influenza, some of our locations may experience

intermittent temporary shortages of flu vaccine, but we still have vaccine in stock. and a local pharmacist said he ran out on wednesday, has 24 people on the wait list and won't know until monday whether he will be able to get new vaccines. organizers of a gun show this weekend at the cow palace claim it's their biggest turnout ever in the bay area. thousands of people lined up outside the event looking to buy guns and take home ammunition. our monty francis joins us from daly city with more. monty? >> reporter: good evening. you cannot just walk into the cow palace and walk out with a gun. that's because here in califoia there's a ten-day waiting period. there are, however, no such restrictions on ammunition. i've seen quite a few people walking out with large boxes of ammo just within the last hour. people lined up here, some of them as early as 4:00 a.m. to get into the annual event at the cow palace called the crossroads of the west gun show. gun show organizers claim they had triple the number of people

here compared to last year. we have not been able to verify that, but it's fair to say the turnout here was large and the lines during the day were very long. now, as congress looks at a possible ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, there is already such a ban on assault weapons here in california. still the owner of the gun show says the big turnout this year is being fueled by a fear that the nation's gun laws may change in other ways in light of the tragedy in newtown, connecticut. >> the politicians are attempting to figure out a series of events to further impede the rights of the american people. >> the government's moving in that direction. i think that's what's bringing thousands of people out right now, to make purchases of firearms and to get ammunition before it's outlawed. >> reporter: now, we did talk to some gun owners here today who actually support some of the national proposals to curb gun violence including a federal requirement for background checks for everyone who purchases a gun.

that requirement already exists in california, but many states have what's called a gun show loophole meaning if you buy a gun at a gun show, you don't have to have a background check. as for protesters, we have not seen any since we've been here. i spoke to the photographer who was here earlier today, and he did not see any either. the gun show ended at 5:00, just a few minutes ago, but it continues here at the cow palace tomorrow. live in daly city, monty francis, nbc bay area news. >> thank you. hundreds of people gathered in petaluma today to remember 19-year-old alyssa burns. she died over the new year's holiday in tahoe. and many at the memorial made a pledge in her honor. she was found dead after she tried to walk three miles to her hotel in freezing weather after a party. friends pledged that as part of her memory, they would use the buddy system and stick together whether they're in petaluma or anywhere else. her dad is grateful that lesson is being learned. >> we've had way too much tragedy here already. let's get the kids out and learn

something and be positive. and instead of having memorials like this for one of our children that we lose, let's have things like this and talk about it before it happens and get that information out so that, you know, parents need to talk to their kids, kids need to talk to each other, parents, friends, whatever. >> family and friends wore pink, her favorite color. they're also planning a benefit concert in february. in san francisco, hundreds of people kacame together to remember the people killed there in 2012. 68 people were killed in san francisco last year. today 68 people held crosses in their honor. for some that weight represents more than one life. >> for me, that's very powerful. i spent 23 1/2 years incarcerated because i took a person's life. and to hold this cross in honor of someone whose life was taken

for me is very powerful. >> the event started with a walk that included stops at several churches and ended with a memorial service at noon at mission dolores. oakland police are under pressure to track down a gunman in four different shootings after four people were killed within a few hours of each other yesterday afternoon. one of the victims was a 17-year-old man. the shooting spanned different neighborhoods of that city from west oakland to deep east oakland. this is the scene at the fourth shooting which happened around 8:15 last night on hillside street. not far from bishop o'dowd high school. the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. the man's killing is oakland's 60th homicide of the new year -- sixth homicide of the new year, that is. police say they have linked all four homicides to several rival gangs. there have been no arrests. a teenager from milpitas died in a crash this morning, and the driver of the car is in serious condition. the accident happened on northbound 880 in san jose near gish road at about 1:30 this

morning. the chp says the car was speeding and somehow flipped ending up on its roof. the passenger was thrown from the car. alcohol and/or drugs are suspected. in san jose, police have made an eighth arrest in the beating death of a 14-year-old boy last year. harry berto reyes died after being attacked by several people in roosevelt park on april 27th. 31-year-old joe trivera was arrested on murder charges. investigators say he was hiding out in an apartment complex there. he was the last suspect wanted by police in that case. coming up next at 5:00, the murder case of an east bay nursing student, michelle le, is thrust into the national spotlight. why her family members believe her story could help others. more rumors swirl around lance armstrong. will he or won't he admit to doping in the next few weeks with an interview with oprah winfrey? what some are expecting him to

say. if so, this is very high on the richter scale for awfulness. >> the first portrait of the duchess of cambridge has led to a wide range of opinions. we'll let you know what the duchess herself has to say. and we're watching quickly cooling temperatures. freeze warnings up and down the bay area from the north bay into the santa clara valley. 40s outside now, but you will be surprised by just how quickly our temperatures reach freezing tonight. i'll have the details in your forecast coming up.

the murder of michelle le in the east bay last year is now in the national spotlight. for the first time on "dateline," gisele esteban answered questions from investigators about that killing, and now le's family is speaking out about the gripping evidence revealed in the case. our stephanie trang has that story. >> you really just want to go into the screen and grab her and protect her. >> reporter: the final moments of michelle le's life captured on camera. >> the last minutes of her life, it's really hard to see. >> reporter: through skype michelle's cousin says it was just as hard to see the rest of the evidence. here police show the family

everything the day they arrested esteban. esteban spending time at her school in oakland to figure out the nursing student's schedule, grabbing a lab coat and even stealing a key card. >> the amount of premeditation and conscious thinking behind her murder was really shocking. >> reporter: also for the first time, we saw footage from esteban's interrogation. >> you don't like her? >> yeah. that's evident. that's very clear. >> how would you classify your dislike for her? >> how -- what do you mean? i just dislike her. >> i mean, do you want to see something bad happen to her? >> no. i just want her to stay away from my child. >> we caught her in a few more lies. >> reporter: this investigator was the first to talk to esteban describing her as cooperative but annoyed. >> it's always with missing persons, you're never doing

enough. >> reporter: but police worked with michelle's family as they worked tirelessly to find her. >> it was more the -- like the family putting it out there, getting it onto social media and things like that, and it became a national story. >> reporter: one the le family is hoping touched the lives of countless others who may be struggling through the same nightmare. >> hopefully one family out there who has a loved one missing won't feel so alone. >> reporter: stephanie trang, nbc bay area news. >> the family says they have no desire to speak to esteban because she has not shown any remorse for the murder. my voice is gone. we'll be right back. i got this. you're so sweet. you got this, right? i do got this. let us get everything off the shelf, and to your home.

sofa... desk... you know what? why don't you go get some frozen yogurt. i got this. you're so sweet. you got this, right? i do got this. let us get everything off the shelf, and to your home. okay, i'm back and so is my voice. the duke and duchess of

cambridge praised it, but members of the british press are having a field day with the first royal portrait of 31-year-old kate. nbc's duncan golistani that the critics don't like it. >> reporter: after a difficult start to her pregnancy, a sighting of the duchess is rare these days. but for kate and william, this was a special day, the unveiling of her first official portrait. kate as seen by the artist paul ensley. she said it was amazing, but the art critics have their knives out. >> is that the richter scale for truly earthquake awfulness? if so, this is very high on the richter scale for awfulness. it's an earthquake. a tsunami. shall we start with that? that's out of perspective, but then we could start with the nose which is very distorted and very large and she hasn't got a nose remotely like that. the eyes are wrong. i could go on.

>> reporter: one newspaper calls the portrait a catastrophe with hamster cheeks while other says it's kate aged 51. at least visitors to the national portrait gallery are being kinder. >> she definitely looks older and a little more mature. >> reporter: is that the nice way of saying old? >> kind of, yeah. she still looks great. >> reporter: kate chose the artist herself and sat twice for him. her request, to be captured looking natural, not official. kate is still taking it easy. she has no public engagements planned in the coming weeks, but we are expecting to find out her baby's due date. back to you. >> she even kind of had circles under her eyes. kind of odd. what do you have for us weatherwise? >> not much sleep before the portrait. >> perhaps. >> chilly temperatures around the bay area today. high temperatures only near 50 in most places. oakland, though, the warm spot, 54. 50 san jose. now that the sun has set, temperatures quickly cooling. mid-40s outside right now. and compared to 24 hours ago,

we're already cooler at this hour than this same time yesterday. so as the dry air sets up and we see cloud-free conditions, our dew point temperatures sometimes can hint at how cold it's going to get tonight. this is the temperature the air will try to cool towards by sunrise before we wake up tomorrow morning. you see 20s on the board. many places in our inland valleys do have a chance of getting into those 20s by 5:00 and 6:00 tomorrow morning. a freezing night around the bay area. some places dropping below freezing by 11:00. and let's take you into the bay area from location to location around the inner bay, frost advisories oakland into san francisco. these will be areas seeing low to mid-30s. upper 20s to low 30s to the santa clara valley. east bay and tri-valley, upper 20s and low 30s. into the north bay, you'll also find numbers in the upper 20s tomorrow morning. coldest temperatures out here towards the pink that's out towards solano county. hard freeze warning for the sacramento valley, also solano

county. could see upper teens to mid-20s by tomorrow morning. the culprit is a real drop in the jet stream. it's allowing this cold air which is usually damned up east of the cascades to spill all the way down into california. this pattern's going to stick around at least until about monday. notice how quickly we reach freezing in the bay area. by midnight, already in the north and east bay valleys, pretty close to 30 degrees. and then purple on the map or darker blues indicating some 20s out towards solano county, the east bay, areas south of san jose and likely north bay. look at san francisco. low to mid-30s even around the water. so mostly clear skies tonight. of course, that's going to help our temperatures to drop off. and during the day tomorrow, sunshine but it's going to be really quite cold. as you can see, our high temperatures again tomorrow, upper 40s to near 50 to wrap up the weekend. 49 around milpitas. around the east bay, highs low 50s and upper 40s. and for the north bay, highs near 51 in santa rosa and 50 in

san francisco. those freeze warnings in effect till 8:00 tomorrow morning and then another one for monday morning. more 20s and 30s for the morning. better news where the weather is concerned. temperatures starting to climb. middle part of the week as high pressure builds more directly over northern california, that should lead to warmer days for us and some warmer nights as well. this weather pretty tough. >> thank goodness. >> because it's giving everybody colds. scratchy throat. >> and makes you walk around like this all day. thank you, rob. comcast sports net for a look at sports. something going on in the sports world today. >> in fact, there is. and the game has been pushed back. it is that nfl playoff game going on tonight in san francisco. a 5:25 start but don't change the channel yet. we'll show you how one 49er nearly became an animal this week in preparing for the game against the packers. also, an absolute doozie in the afc side of the playoffs.

the game still under way, but it will be the final one for peyton manning or the last one for ray lewis ever? sports is next.

well, this weekend is widely known to nfl fans as the best two football days of the calendar year. eight teams enter today hoping to continue their seasons with only four headed to their respective conference title games next weekend. this game still going on in the mile high city, baltimore and denver tied at 35-35. ravens scored a touchdown within the final minute to send it to extra football. right now if the next score wins, we'll let you know if that happens by the final of our

sports cast. it's also nine degrees fahrenheit while this game is being played. also when the 49ers game is over, there's only one place you can get full insight, analysis and interviews straight from candlestick park, it's "post-game live" over on comcast sports net bay area. the 49ers set a franchise record with six players named to the allpro team. voting is conducted by the associated press among 50 writers across the country. many have said that 49ers' offensive tackle adam boone plays like an animal in protecting his team's quarterback from defenders. so we decided to take that angle one step further by actually bringing boone to the zoo. ♪ >> it feels so weird. >> mm-hmm. feels like a football. >> looks like a football but a

little wigglier. >> it was a pleasure. you scare the crap out of me. now we're going to see the main attraction. a beautiful animal. beautiful. beast. we're going to play with it, touch it, maybe wrestle it a little bit. you are the man. oh, you're pretty. >> alex, while you're feeding this rhino, the san francisco 49ers foundation in support of our mission to keep kids safe in school has decided to form a partnership with the zoo here to actually name this rhino boone. we're going to invite the fans to come out, participate in this effort to support the zoo and to actually have a chance to win an opportunity to come here to be at the naming party in a few months. >> i love it. thank you so much. i'm humbled to be here. >> no problem. >> i'm humbled to have a rhino

named after me. he's absolutely beautiful. i love spending time with him. thank you so much to you guys and to the zoo. i appreciate it. >> if you say adam and you're thinking aaron, what you're really trying to say is alex boone. great guy. we had him out there at the zoo. great time. we end on this, nhl players voting yesterday with that deal with owners. there will be hockey this season. we'll have highlights of the 49ers/packers game right here at 11:00. diane? >> sounds good. thank you. when we come back, is lance armstrong coming clean to oprah? we'll have the latest.

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finally tonight, lance armstrong will reportedly admit to doping in a television interview with oprah winfrey next week. "usa today" reports that armstrong is expected to come clean about his past drug use when he's interviewed on monday. that interview is scheduled to

air on thursday on the oprah network. armstrong has strongly denied the doping charges. he was stripped of his seven tour de france titles a few months ago after the u.s. anti-doping agency released a detailed report. armstrong's representatives are not commenting on the reports about the oprah interview. right now we want to check with rob one more time on this sort of freeze warning and what's going on tonight. >> all around the bay area now, you can see hour by hour, by 11:00 tonight, north and east bay valleys will already be in the 20s and 30s. by tomorrow morning you can see some of the colder spots. you could find some mid-20s tomorrow morning. and that would be close to breaking some records. and even with the sunshine tomorrow, you're only looking at highs in the 40s to near 50. the freeze warning tonight. i think you'll see them again for monday morning's commute and then we warm up slowly but surely for the end of the week. >> i love a warm-up. thanks for watching.

"nbc nightly news" is next. guests with a little night music. now, it is becoming a destination for fans and musicians alike as we found out the other night at brownstone jazz. ♪